OCEAN CITY — The investigation continues into a series of incidents that led to a dozen arrests on the Boardwalk late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, but it appears the episodes are related to an unsanctioned and unannounced College Beach Weekend event in the resort.
According to witness reports, what began earlier in the evening with an unusually large college-age individuals roaming the Boardwalk amid the rest of the big crowd on a hot summer night in late July reached a crescendo with several incidents breaking out in different areas, including an initial episode that began in the area of 1st Street around 9:45 p.m. with an individual overturning a trashcan and spilling its contents on the Boardwalk and escalated into another incident in the area of 7th and 8th streets with combatants battling with police.
When the dust settled, at least 12 individuals were arrested on various charges with a common theme including second-degree assault, resisting arrest, obstructing and hindering, failure to obey a lawful order and reckless endangerment, for example.
From the beginning, as word spread of the incidents on the Boardwalk, some residents and visitors attributed the riotous behavior to the “Black Lives Matter” organization. However, while chants of “Black Lives Matter” were heard at various times during the incidents on the Boardwalk, reliable witnesses confirmed there was no apparent organization behind them. As individuals were being arrested, some in the crowd would start random chants of “black lives matter,” but there is no indication the national movement had an organized presence in Ocean City. Instead, it appeared bystanders observing the disturbances and subsequent police interactions with the participants began shouting the now-familiar phrase for no apparent reason other than it is currently en vogue and only incited the crowds further.
While there is no apparent connection to the official “Black Lives Matter” organization, there does appear to be a nexus to another unofficial, unsanctioned and unannounced event in the resort over the weekend. A College Beach Weekend was held in Ocean City from Friday to Sunday and the group has a not-so-rosy history of staging “takeover-type” events in resort towns.
In April 2013, the group held a College Takeover Beach Weekend in Virginia Beach with thousands of college-age students invading that resort town, roaming the streets, disrupting traffic, shuttering businesses and generally striking fear in the residents and visitors to the town. In June 2014, the same group promoted a College Takeover Beach Weekend in Ocean City and the OCPD and allied law enforcement agencies were aware of the pending event and took a proactive approach, including increased manpower and resources. That event passed fairly quietly with no major incidents that year as well as in 2015.
This weekend, however, the same group promoted another College Beach Weekend in Ocean City that was unannounced, other than through the organization’s Twitter feed and other social media platforms. According to the group’s website and other social media outlets, the event began on Friday with a “meet and greet” at an undisclosed location with a free shot waiting for attendees at the “Get You Wetter” kickoff party. Saturday’s events included a Beach Day Party and a Project OC After-Party, although no details were provided. On Sunday, attendees were invited to a farewell gathering at an undisclosed location with “three shots waiting for you.”
It appears there is a logical connection between the incidents and the College Beach Weekend takeover-type event, given the group’s track record and the announced events in Ocean City over the weekend. OCPD spokesperson Lindsay Richard said as much on Monday.
“Yes, we believe that is what drew this crowd to town for the weekend,” she said. “As you know, it’s unusual to see large groups of young adults in town this time of year. I think it’s important to stress that we don’t expect this type of behavior to become a pattern for the rest of the summer.”
Ocean City Communications Director Jessica Waters agreed the incidents on Saturday night and early Sunday morning appeared to be connected to the unsanctioned and unannounced College Beach Weekend event.
“While we normally have large crowds of families on the Boardwalk, this past weekend they were joined by large crowds of young adults, which we typically do not see this time of year,” she said. “I do believe that most of the young adults were here for the College Beach Weekend, which was promoted over social media but is not a sanctioned event. There has been a lot of misinformation about riots and fights for demonstration purposes, but this was not an organized demonstration. This was an incident that began on social media and resulted in a large crowd on the Boardwalk and as the evening progressed, the crowd got larger and more unruly.”
In its own statement on the incidents, the Ocean City Police Department said it is investigating the possible connection.
“The Ocean City Police Department and the town of Ocean City are taking a close look at the events that occurred over the weekend on the Boardwalk,” the statement reads. “While most of our visitors were in town to enjoy the beautiful summer weekend at the beach, a large number of young adults who gathered on the Boardwalk chose to disobey our laws and treat our town without respect. This activity will not be tolerated on our Boardwalk, our beach or anywhere in Ocean City. While no injuries occurred to our law-abiding citizens and visitors were reported, Ocean City expects all visitors to our town to be respectful to others and obey the laws. The safety of our residents and visitors is, as always, our top priority.”
Waters said the large crowd’s aggressive behavior toward police was a symptom of a larger national and even international problem.
“As with any change in normal activity, and this weekend was certainly out of the norm for us at this point in the season, the Ocean City Police Department will review the incidents that took place and take whatever steps they need to improve our response in the future,” she said. “It’s no secret that our nation and world are in a different and difficult time, especially for law enforcement. I have the privilege of working everyday with our police department and I am always enamored by their professionalism and dedication to the town of Ocean City. This weekend was no exception. They were proficient and stern and were able to keep an alarming incident from escalating.”
Waters said it’s unfortunate the lawless actions of a few ruined for many what was another crowded summer night on the Boardwalk.
“What it comes down to is that we welcome everyone in Ocean City,” she said. “We are in the business or inviting people to come here and enjoy our beautiful beach, bay and Boardwalk, but we do so with the expectation that our visitors are respectful to others and obey the law. The behavior by some of our visitors on the Boardwalk was unacceptable. We cannot control who visits Ocean City, but we do expect everyone who visits to obey our laws and be respectful to others. Unfortunately, that was not the case this weekend.”
The lawlessness began around 9:45 p.m. when Ocean City Police witnessed an individual later identified as Kevin Rusten, 26, of Silver Spring, Md., kick a trashcan and push it to the ground.
OCPD officers observed Rusten drag the trashcan into the center of the crowded Boardwalk at the peak of a late-July summer night. When OCPD officers attempted to place Rusten under arrest, he allegedly became aggressive toward the officers and a large, hostile crowd began to form. Numerous suspects assaulted police officers as they attempted to disperse the crowd.
Among those arrested during that initial incident were Rustin, who was charged with two counts of second-degree assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful order and reckless endangerment. Charles Mapp, 21, of Accomac, Va. was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing and hindering a police officer; Jiare Darden, 20, of Baltimore, was charged with interfering with an arrest, obstructing and hindering and disorderly conduct; Ogni Assimaidou, 20, of Potomac, Md. was charged with interfering with an arrest and second-degree assault on a police officer; and Antwan English, 21, of Baltimore, was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, obstructing and hindering, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
The incident on 1st Street was a precursor of sorts for a larger incident yet to come early Sunday morning further up the Boardwalk. Around 12:40 a.m., Ocean City Police observed a large, disorderly crowd estimated at over 200 in the area of 7th Street and the Boardwalk. According to police reports, individuals in the crowd were yelling profanities and some began throwing bottles and other objects. The crowd was very hostile and aggressive toward police officers attempting to disperse them. Dozens of officer responded to the scene including additional officers from the Maryland State Police and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office.
A reliable source working at a Boardwalk restaurant and bar in the area at the time of the incident said she observed a lot of young people congregating in front of the establishment and decided to start closing down early because it was getting rowdy. The source was preparing to close the restaurant when there was suddenly a “legitimate stampede” of young people down the Boardwalk and some began hopping over the fence and onto the establishment’s property. The source said she yelled at her remaining customers and staff to get inside so she could lock up.
“It all happened really fast and it was quite scary,” she said.
A total of seven arrests were made during the incident on the Boardwalk at 7th Street including Steven Williams, 20, of Baltimore, who was charged with interfering with an arrest and obstructing and hindering; Jayvon Jackson, 19, of Silver Spring, Md., who was charged with second-degree assault on an officer, resisting arrest and failure to obey a lawful order; Germane Levenbury, 21, of Upper Marlboro, Md., who was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and failure to obey; Savanah Nelson, 21, of Capitol Heights, who was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey, unlawful assembly which resulted in a disturbance of the peace and resisting arrest.
Also arrested during the 7th Street incident was Nickolet Serrano, 19, of Beltsville, Md., who was charged with disorderly conduct; Tuflah Davies, 19, of Silver Spring, who was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and possession of CDS; and a 17-year-old juvenile from Largo, Md., who was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey and obstructing and hindering.
